Who am I?

Hi, I’m Maxine Teller, an independent business strategy consultant with 18 years of success defining business strategies, developing new revenue opportunities, and expanding distribution for public and private sector clients.

I am a connector. I connect people (network development). I connect organizations (business development). I connect ideas (strategy). Although I have a lot of experience with social media and can certainly create and execute a successful social media strategy for your organization, I do not consider myself a social media consultant. My real passion is solving interesting, strategic business problems. My unique angle is leveraging the principles behind social media–collaboration, information-sharing, transparency, crowdsourcing–to help clients to more efficiently and effectively achieve their missions and business objectives.

The power of social media is not in the tools and technologies, it’s in the behaviors and business practices that they enable. Starting a blog will not increase your sales. Getting a Twitter handle will not improve employee satisfaction. Authentically engaging and participating in the conversations your stakeholders–internal and external–are already having, will.

In successful organizations, people support what they help to create. It’s one thing to recite this as a mantra, it’s quite another to make the organizational and technological changes necessary to truly integrate it into the fabric of your organization. Organizations that can be real and focus on results will stand ahead of their competitors, attract and retain their employees, and achieve their long-term objectives.

What did I do before social media changed everything? Well, really, all of the components which have now collided and spawned social media: new media, innovation, communications, sociology, and technology.

Explored and evaluated new businesses and managed content syndication at washingtonpost.com

When I’m not online, I like to run, in-line skate, spin, strength-train, cook without recipes, support the whole grain movement, drink strong decaf, search for the world’s best scone, picnic, drive faster than I should, explore new places, and dream of traveling to exotic destinations.

I live in Washington, DC with my husband Paul, my daughter Aviva, and my son Joshua. Tweet me–@mixtmedia–if you’re going to be in DC and want to join me at my favorite Starbucks. If networking were a job, I’d apply in a heartbeat. Click here for my resume.

Testimonials

Maxine is one of the most strategic thinkers I know. Her insights about the direction of digital media are on spot-on. She has really helped our company to identify industry leadership opportunities for the present and for the future.

Liddy Manson, Vice President Strategy & Business Development (former)Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive

Maxine was a force multiplier and communication dynamo for the Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. Maxine takes initiative, displays great communication skills and works well in a team environment. She is a true marketing and communication guru who will make your organization and/or project a success.

I am very glad to have Maximize as the outsourced business development solution for my two businesses. Not only does she provide creative ideas, a true team spirit and marketing expertise, she also provides peace of mind for my small businesses by taking full ownership of our business development priorities and successfully driving these initiatives to completion.

Robin Thieme, CEOKensington Business Solutions and SoGo Workspaces

Maxine is a great strategic thinker with valuable insights and knowledge about the media industry.

Susan Lavington, Senior Vice President Marketing (former)USA TODAY

Maxine is one of the most talented and innovative business development strategists that I have had the pleasure of working with. Her sharp business mind always goes to the possible connections and business opportunities that a business could and should make, and how these connections could benefit and impact the growth of that company. While Maxine is a seasoned networker who can easily identify the business events that are worth attending, you will also find her successfully running small group sessions where she interacts personally with each business owner to get to the heart of their business opportunities and challenges. I would highly recommend Maxine for business development strategy and for group facilitation sessions.

Frederique Irwin, Founder & CEOHer Corner

I have known and worked with Maxine for over 15 years now. She is bright, organized, and thorough–one of the most organized and focused professionals I have had the pleasure of working with. Maxine’s business development and company growth strategic skills are second to none; she understands complex business relationships and focuses her efforts on delivering the most important deal terms every time. As social media has grown over recent years, Maxine has been in the thick of it from the start, understanding precisely which outlets and what messaging strategies deliver the greatest leverage to each client. Any client would be fortunate to have Maxine in their camp. I look forward to the opportunity to work with Maxine again.

Eric Koefoot, CEOPublicRelay

Maxine has a fantastic ability to frame issues, build business cases, and drive consensus and action within an organization. She was very respected for leading an incredibly diverse array of initiatives, many with major technical components and all with complicated business implications.